For the past two years, we have been reading about the Seattle School District's need to close schools to save money. I don't disagree with that; Seattle Public Schools have too many buildings supporting too few students.The district, however, does not have an "overcapacity" situation in all neighborhoods. In fact, right here in Magnolia and Queen Anne, we have a shortage of school space that desperately needs correcting. So, in my mind, it is also time to open a school.I'm talking about the need for a high school in the Magnolia/Queen Anne area.Since the opening of the new Ballard High School, and the commensurate increase in the popularity of that school, students in our area have been largely excluded from being able to attend their closest high school. This is because Ballard fills up before the distance tiebreaker gets to our area. As a consequence, our students are shuttled to Ingraham, Franklin, Cleveland or even West Seattle.Many parents and students find these options unacceptable, and either move out of our area or attend private schools. In fact, Magnolia/Queen Anne have the fewest high school students, 46 percent (as a percent of the total), attending Seattle Public Schools of any area in the city.So how do we rectify this situation at a time when the district is in financial difficulty?
Several readers wrote taking issue with last issue's story about Queen Anne Fire Station 20. Here are their views:Indelicate balanceSaw the article in the Queen Anne News today re: Fire Station 20 ("Vote split on Fire Station 20 in city council committee," July 26) ... expected a balanced viewpoint from you [Russ Zabel] as we discussed on the phone. Concerned Neighbors of Fire Station 20 have never said we think "just about anywhere else would be preferable to the current location"! We are very fact-based in our proposals for alternative sites that meet the explicit site selection criteria of this important public facility in our community.We have submitted those specific sites, along with our analysis to [City C]ouncil members. We are not waving our arms saying "NIMBY." What started as a small grassroots frustration tied to a violation of community process and the surprise of absolute, imminent condemnation of single-family homes in our residential neighborhood has now led to the reality that the research, supporting documentation and selection process for the location of a public-safety facility in our community is sorely lacking in pertinent supporting analysis. It was not our expectation to discover this. We were very surprised to see up-front quotes from the only public voice in support of the condemnation, the directly affected homeowner who has not been involved in our efforts and who has not reviewed materials prepared by the fire department and Fleets & Facilities Department and therefore without credible knowledge of whether due diligence has been made.
Playwright Elizabeth Heffron has taken one of today's most volatile topics and tried courageously to present its complexity without making her play a harangue. "Mitzi's Abortion," currently on stage at ACT Theatre, has its flaws. It is, however, a thought-provoking production that can't be ignored.Mitzi and Chuck are in love. An unexpected pregnancy leads to marriage. The thought of motherhood is a bit overwhelming at first, but then the concept grows on Mitzi along with the hard bulge that begins to replace her flat stomach. When Chuck ships off with his Army unit to a war-torn land, Mitzi goes on with her life. She paints their small apartment a sunny yellow, continues working and studying Esperanto, and puts up with advice about pregnancy offered by everyone she knows and a few she doesn't know. St. Thomas Aquinas materializes and visits her regularly. Then along comes Reckless Mary, a midwife from the 17th century. Mitzi lets them all talk, but her focus is more and more on her own changing body and the fetus with whom she's sharing her life. In her mind it's becoming her baby, her very own lovable baby. Ah, but fate is cruel. A sonogram reveals that what she's carrying is a body without a brain. Her baby is an anencephalic. It will either die in her uterus or die at or shortly after birth, and the absence of the brain might even prevent Mitzi from going into labor at term.As her doctor explains this, Mitzi is confused and skeptical. He must be wrong, she thinks. This couldn't possibly be a description of her baby. She rejects his suggestion that she consider a medical termination of the pregnancy. She's distraught. Termination really means abortion, and she would never consider that.
I'm going to put aside my fury. I'm going to operate from a place of love. The lack of logic within the recent state Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage is downright embarrassing. But Justice Barbara Madsen, your honor, I love you. Even if your opinion was from outer space.What were you thinking, sweetie? While the lack of history and tradition of equality was never the basis of any landmark civil rights case, you're right, there's no denying we have had little in the marriage department. In fact, as late as 1967, people of different races couldn't marry in 16 states. I mean, if one of them was white.I forgive you for giving more credence to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' unrelated speech at a Bar Association luncheon, and tap-dancing through what I think is the most important case about love and marriage, ever: "Loving v. Virginia" (1967).What happened in Loving vs. Virginia? You cited it, but from your opinion it didn't appear you'd read it. You see, in June 1958, Mildred Jeter, an African-American woman, and Richard Loving, who was white, fell in love and got married. But Virginia, where they wanted to live, had a ban on such a mixed-race marriage.Virginia was so full of hate, fear and bitterness that Mildred and Richard were indicted by a grand jury. But they were in love and wanted to stay married, so they pled guilty.The judge said they had a choice of either going to jail for a year or leaving Virginia for 25 years.
Twenty-seven years ago, the City of Seattle hired artist and ex-musician Jack Mackie to stick some cast-metal diagrams of dance steps into Broadway's sidewalks.Late last month, Mayor Greg Nickels announced a new set of improvements for Capitol Hill's beleaguered main street.Some of the proposals seem modestly practical: Helping to fund a re-launched Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, cleaning up some graffiti.But as far as more ambitious efforts, the recent announcement seemed lacking. It mentions, as this paper has noted, "replacing street signs on Broadway; painting crosswalks, curbs and fire hydrants; replacing decrepit trash cans; complete the transition from parking meters to pay stations; improving the visual appearance of vacant storefronts; and improving tree maintenance."The skeptic in me immediately says it's not enough. How are a few new street signs and a fresh coat of lane-stripe paint supposed to drum up more retail business than the dance steps?
Last week, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels spoke on Broadway with some fanfare and enthusiasm about the changes that, with city and community efforts, help bring positive change to the Broadway business district. He announced that $345,000 in city funding and services will be pointed in Broadway's direction. He also accepted the Broadway Action Agenda team's final report, a 31-page document that lists a large number of specific elements aimed at improving Broadway's economic vitality and viability.This week, it's back to work. The Seattle City Council was expected to approve the mayor's commitment on Monday, July 31, but the session was cancelled. But work continues apace, and council approval is expected. The city will contribute $125,000 towards establishing a Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, the first item highlighted in the report. (The Hill has been without a chamber since November 2004.) Efforts at creating and defining a chamber are now under way. What's needed is someone to help drum up the membership rolls and, once the chamber has been established, an experienced person to fill the executive director position. "It will be a challenge to find someone for a new organization," said Chip Ragen, co-chair of the group who put together the plan. "But it's important to find the right person. There is some pressure on us as well, because we want to move ahead and show the community the results of all our effort and the city's contribution."
The mid-term senatorial election is fast approaching, and the field of candidates is larger than you may realize. This September's ballots will feature five candidates from as many different parties vying for Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell's seat. On that list will be South End resident and Green Party candidate Aaron Dixon. A Beacon Hill resident, the 57-year-old Dixon is a father of six with a well-established history of community activism. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dixon was a crucial, organizing member of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party. During his time with the BPP he advocated for the civil liberties of black students at Rainier Beach High School, started the Free Breakfast for School Children program and helped open a free legal clinic and a community medical clinic, which is still operational as the Carolyn Downs Clinic located off of East Yesler Way. Today Dixon juggles the responsibilities of a statewide political campaign with his North Seattle nonprofit organization, Central House, which he founded in 2002 to provide transitional housing for homeless young adults as well as a base for a youth leadership project that currently operates in four Seattle high schools. Dixon discusses his reasons for accepting the Green Party's offer to run as their senatorial candidate, his experience working with the Washington Green Party's fledgling infrastructure, and his reception outside of Seattle.
Editor's note: This letter was sent Aug. 10 by Magnolia Community Club president Vic Barry to Mayor Greg Nickels as well as to a handful of local officials at the Port of Seattle, the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Seattle City Council.There has been much discussion over the years about a possible "land swap" between the city and the Port of the two equal-sized properties between Magnolia and Queen Anne: Lower Smith Cove Park and the West Yard.This letter is the Magnolia Community Club's request that should any land swap be considered, it be considered in an open public process, and that the framework for the city's analysis includes all possible community concerns and risks of future development.Although no formal proposals have yet materialized from informal discussions between the city and the Port for citizens to react to, there has been a consensus formed around some general themes associated with additional park lands in this area: neighborhoods are opposed to lighting for sports fields in their midst; there is a need for more shoreline access in Magnolia; there should be easier access to the marina than now exists; there is strong community opposition to the Port's putting any buildings in the West Yard; and any revised uses and re-configuration of these two parcels should occur only after a fair and open public process. As you may know, there is a small shoreline access park, also called Smith Cove Park, on the southern tip of the West Yard. In comments on the Port's proposed North Bay development, the Magnolia Community Club suggested that the West Yard be set aside as open space to join the existing narrow shoreline park and the grassy field that now make up Lower Smith Cove Park.Since that time, we have learned of a proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment requested by the Port that would switch future land-use designations for the West Yard and Lower Smith Cove Park. As proposed, that amendment would result in the West Yard area being targeted for park use and Lower Smith Cove Park for development by the Port and would, presumably, be followed by an actual trade of land ownership.
Arrrrg! The last days of August are upon us. I'm lounging in the sunshine, sipping a cold one, and feeling as if summer might last forever-then it hits me-the schizophrenia of fall and winter being thrust upon me by the approaching month of September, and our society.The stores are starting to stock the shelves with Halloween candy. Wait a second! It's still August; I haven't seen any pumpkins lying in the fields ready to harvest. The corn isn't ready to be turned into a dining room table centerpiece.Everywhere I look, in newspapers and store windows, I see back-to-school sale ads. The malls are teeming with teenagers toting shopping bags emblazoned with the logos of the GAP, Abercrombie & Fitch, Macy's and the plethora of places peddling the latest in teen fashions.Our mailbox bulges with Christmas catalogs. Christmas catalogs? Give me a break! The fair in Puyallup hasn't started yet. Bumbershoot is still ahead of us. I haven't even had my Thanksgiving turkey, for Pete's sake-whoever Pete might be. Don't be telling me about Christmas.Then the sun takes a hiatus; the temperature tops out in the mid-60s, and suddenly it hits me; all those things I was going to do this summer, things that depend on summer for their doing, are lost to another year. I mean, who wants to landscape a steep bank in the back yard when it's cold, wet and muddy? A fellow could hurt himself out there.Procrastination is such a pleasant pastime. It allows you to plan, to talk about your plans, and the plans you plan to plan, and then to plan some more, impressing your friends and filling you with the feeling you're going to accomplish great things, someday, all without actually lifting a finger.
Once you are middle-aged it is time to think twice about using words like "slides downhill" when referring to the future of one's hometown. Else the source of the "frustration and aliena-tion" you say you are feeling may be more ob-vious to your readers than to yourself. Perhaps, and even if you are not letting on about such things, what you are experiencing is more of a personal downhill slide, when your waistline begins to infringe on territory that belongs to your hips, though I don't mean to imply this sliding is something that can be measured strictly in visible signs.I'm referring to Seattle Weekly's ex-editor-in-chief, Knute Berger, and his final Mossback column, my favo-rite alt-news column for years. His brand of honesty has been my weekly city-roundup fix. And, for one thing, I love my fixes. Giving up Mossback will be difficult. And there's no hard and fast detox for it, either.But anyone who's met him might have predicted the tone his last col-umn would likely assume. For he is, and I mean no disrespect, the epitome of old-school Seattle. And not even the opportunity to give a few final words of hopefulness to a captivated audience could lift him up past his lean toward pessimism, a trait I find in many that have grown up here and now must endure the city's growth spurts while they struggle to make themselves feel safe.Maybe, in the long run, it's less painful to have a city like New York as a reference point, where the land was pulverized into the maximum per-capita square footage in terms of living space way before I was born, and where one grows up to believe a city will never, ever be anything other than noisy, intense, addicted and problem riddled.
It's yet another end of an era. After 63 years on Broadway, Jimmy Woo's Jade Pagoda has closed its doors for good. And with its closing Broadway, and Seattle, loses yet another relic from its past and possibly its heart.The cause? Rising rent. The building's owner has said the building is in serious need of repairs. And many assume that the property will in short order be replaced by a large, multi-story, mixed-use project similar to the one just underway at the old Safeway site. But stepping into the Jade Pagoda, up until its Thursday, Aug. 31, closing, time tended to stand still. The restaurant at 606 Broadway East opened in 1943 and over time became known for cheap and generous drinks. Lovingly referred to as a dive bar, it was a place where the restaurant trade became incidental to the character of the bar.And on the last night it was packed.
It's been years since the idea was first proposed. Creating an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA), which would place restrictions on the kinds of products a store could sell in an effort to reduce the impacts of chronic street alcoholics, has been pursued with various degrees of enthusiasm for nearly a decade.Last week, those in favor of taking this step got their wish. On Thursday, Aug. 31, the Washington State Liquor Control Board unanimously approved the city's formal request to establish the AIA. The approval comes after several Good Neighbor Agreements, efforts at voluntary compliance where businesses would agree to restrictions that were not mandated, were deemed unsuccessful. The AIA goes into effect on Nov. 1. When it does, stores will be prohibited from selling a large number of the high-alcoholic, low-cost beverages typically favored by street alcoholics. Businesses are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages until 9 a.m., and cannot sell single containers.On Capitol Hill, the AIA's north border is East Aloha Street. The area includes all of what is commonly considered Capitol Hill and First Hill, as well as downtown, the International District, the Central District and Lower Queen Anne. Also included is Pioneer Square, which has had an AIA in place since 2003, and the University District.
Have you ever wondered about food from Ethiopia? What is it, what are the ingredients, what are its roots and where can I get it? Working with the local chefs for the Columbia City Farmers Market, I found myself exposed to a cuisine and people that have a special bond to the earth and to their country. Ethiopia is landlocked in northeast Africa, rimmed by high mountains reaching over 15,000 feet, and shares rugged borders with Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. Through the centuries, only a few traders have permeated the borders to leave new ingredients behind.People from Portugal introduced chili peppers while ginger came with Asian traders and many of Ethiopia's spices can be traced to Indian explorers. Coffee, honey, and grains such as sorghum, millet, teff and wheat are indigenous to the country.Due to its large, southern Muslim population, vegetarian dishes abound on an Ethiopian menu. With the large, northern Christian population, meat dishes made of chicken, lamb or beef are also abundant.
Your child tells you he is being bullied at school.Do you:A. Advise him to ignore it?B. Ask what he did to provoke it?C. Tell him to hit back?D. None of the above.The correct answer is D."Children who are being bullied need their parents' support and help," says Brian Bailey, violence prevention supervisor at Youth Eastside Services. "Start by acknowledging the courage it took for your son to tell you about the problem."Make no mistake, bullying is a problem.Fear of being bullied causes thousands of children to miss school annually, and the stress can affect their academic performance and physical and mental health, not to mention leave lasting emotional scars.Research shows that adults who were bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem. Unchecked bullying also carries consequences for perpetrators, who are more likely to drop out, get into fights, use cigarettes and alcohol, and have criminal problems.
During retirement we wish to have a lifetime stream of income sufficient to support our lifestyle. Since taxability of income determines how much spendable income may be available, this is an important topic for consideration in planning for retirement income.Currently taxable income includes wages and salaries, business and rental income, taxable interest and dividends, alimony, pension, annuity and IRA distributions received. For 2006, the taxable income rate can be as high as 35 percent.While many more people with higher incomes are now finding themselves subject to AMT-alternative minimum tax-individuals with the highest incomes are not affected by the AMT because their maximum marginal tax rate (35 percent) exceeds the maximum AMT rate of 28 percent. During the accumulation phase, several instruments offer the advantage of tax-deferred growth. These include qualified retirement plans, annuities and cash-value life insurance.